Braden, D R (2012) Non-destructive evaluation of solder joint reliability. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

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Abstract

A through life non-destructive evaluation technique is presented in which a key solder joint feature, nucleating at the bump to silicon interface and propagating across a laminar crack plane is captured and tracked using acoustic microscopy imaging (AMI). The feasibility of this concept was successfully demonstrated by employing the measurement technique in combination with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to study the impact of component floor plan layout on the reliability of electronics systems subjected to thermal cycling. A comprehensive review of current and emerging packaging and interconnect technologies has shown increasingly a move from conventional 2D to 3D packaging. These present new challenges for reliability and Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE) due to solder joints being hidden beneath the packaging, and not ordinarily visible or accessible for inspection. Solutions are developed using non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques that have the potential to detect and locate defects in microelectronic devices. This thesis reports on X-ray and Acoustic Micro Imaging (AMI) which have complementary image discriminating features. Gap type defects are hard to find using X-ray alone due to low contrast and spot size resolution, whereas AMI having better axial resolution has allowed cracks and delamination at closely spaced interfaces to be investigated. The application of AMI to the study of through life solder joint behaviour has been achieved for the first time. Finite Element Analysis and AMI performance were compared to measure solder joint reliability for several realistic test cases. AMI images were taken at regular intervals to monitor through- life behaviour. Image processing techniques were used to extract a diameter measurement for a laminar crack plane, within a solder joint damage region occurring at the bump to silicon interface. FEA solder joint reliability simulations for flip-chip and micro-BGA (mBGA) packages placed on FR4 PCB's were compared to the AMI measurement performance, with a reasonable level of correlation observed. Both techniques clearly showed significant reliability degradation of the critical solder joints located furthest from the neutral axis of the package, typically residing at the package corners. The technique also confirmed that circuit board thickness can affect interconnect reliability, as can floor plan. Improved correlation to the real world environment was achieved when simulation models considered the entire floor plan layout and constraints imposed on the circuit board assembly. This thesis established a novel through life solder joint evaluation method crucial to the development of better physics of failure models and the advancement of model based prognostics in electronics systems.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering
Divisions:	Engineering
Date Deposited:	29 Mar 2017 10:47
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2021 23:30
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6124

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